Someone illegally shot and wasted a deer in a subdivision east of town, putting residents at needless risk — and wildlife wardens are on the case. A deer was shot in the neck in the Golden Hills subdivision during opening week.

Poaching, always a problem this time of year, sometimes threatens homes.
“We have been very, very busy,” IDFG conservation officer George Fischer said Monday, Oct. 27. “This deer was shot and left in a yard up Cow Creek.”

A black bear weighing 600-plus pounds could not have mistaken a Cottonwood-area photographer’s intentions on Oct. 21, but it turns out Renee Duman has as good an eye with her rifle as she has with her portraiture rig.

It is an agonizing ordeal when one loses a game animal. It is absolutely one of the worst feelings a conscientious hunter can endure. In order to prevent this type of occurrence Edd and Leanne Woslum in cooperation with the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game, have trained blood tracking dogs. The sole purpose in life for these dedicated hard-working animals — other than running and playing — is to seek and track a hunter’s wounded game animal on demand.

Hunters have informational tools to choose from this hunting season, including the 2014 Clearwater Forest Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM), Clearwater Motorized Travel Guide, and the availability to download vehicle use and visitor maps on a new app.